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Spreadsheet templates for product 8B16N026.

Spreadsheet to accompany product 8B17E004.

Student spreadsheet to accompany product 9B17E004.

In 1999, three brothers opened a small fast food outlet in a small city in Eastern India. The geodemographics of the city changed markedly over the next few years, providing the brothers with an opportunity to redefine their business and grow. By focusing on who their customers were and what they needed, the brothers created a new market in the city's fast food sector, avoiding the entrenched competition in the existing market. The brothers’ venture was not initially successful and they did have some problems along the way, but by 2016, they had established an unrivalled chain known for its biryanis and other food items. What led to the brothers’ success? Could they continue to grow with this strategy? Were they established enough to consider international expansion?

In early 2016, LUX* Resorts & Hotels, a hotel group headquartered in Mauritius, needed to determine the room mix to sell to foreign guests to achieve a specific earnings target. The hotel group also intended to sell some of the remaining rooms to local residents at affordable (discounted) prices. The objective was to maximize the revenue stream to finance local corporate social responsibility projects. The case highlights the practical use of Microsoft Excel Solver, an optimization tool, to resolve routine planning challenges faced by a hotel group.

This case examines the history of the Lac Seul First Nation from first contact with Europeans through treaty negotiations with the Canadian government, timber trespasses by unscrupulous loggers, flooding by Ontario’s hydroelectric provider, and development of mineral resources in Lac Seul traditional territory. The case provides details of settlements of past logging and flooding claims, and agreements with mining companies. The band’s chief and council are faced with the challenge of determining the direction for economic development of the band and the use of resources from the settlements and agreements to improve the community’s socioeconomic environment.

In July 2014, the president and co-owner of Sunshine Fresh Inc. (Sunshine), a food service manufacturing company in Totowa, New Jersey, needed to make a decision about the best location for the company’s new West Coast expansion. Sunshine had built a strong reputation on the U.S. East Coast for high-quality refrigerated kosher pickles. Among Sunshine’s most valued clients were several casinos located in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. Recently, a food purchaser for one these casinos casually mentioned to Sunshine’s vice-president that his casino’s customers in Las Vegas would love to have Sunshine’s pickles too. This brief exchange led to an expansion plan that required Sunshine to choose a location for its West Coast operation. The company’s managers had visited several cities in the Western United States to explore their options, and had carefully weighed the pros and cons of the two main contenders—Los Angeles, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada—against five essential criteria. Now, they needed a firm decision: Which metropolitan area was the best location for Sunshine’s new pickle plant?

Founded in May 2008 in India, Indus OS (previously known as Firstouch) understood the latent language needs of 90 per cent of Indian consumers, a need that prevented users from switching from their basic-feature phones to smartphones. Through incremental innovation of the open Android system, Indus OS launched the world’s first smartphone operating system that had the ability to function in 12 of India’s regional languages. Through strategic partnerships formed in 2015 with some of the leading smartphone manufacturers in India, by May 2016 Indus OS had become the second most popular operating system in the Indian market, following Google’s Android and leading Apple’s iOS. Moreover, Indus OS had firm strategic growth plans, not only for India but also for international markets like China and Bangladesh. The remaining critical issue was whether Indus OS could sustain its advantage over rivals or whether it was likely to be acquired by a large multinational corporation, a fate common to other successful start-ups in India.

In January 2017, the owner of Re-Matt Inc. (Re-Matt), a mattress recycling operation, was considering the way forward for the business he had developed in the city of Calgary, Alberta. Re-Matt was a unique enterprise in Alberta where municipalities, both urban and rural, had been categorizing mattresses as waste, and sending them to landfills for disposal, for decades. Re-Matt’s business was diverting used mattresses from landfills and recycling them by routing their individual components back into the economic streams and recovering value. The company had reached an annual revenue of CA$500,000 in just two years. Its owner was now weighing his options with respect to scaling up Re-Matt’s operations, as well as trying to identify ways of differentiating Re-Matt from its potential competition.

COLIN, a producer of garment care products headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, was working with a large U.S. retailer to produce the Bristol, an innovative garment steamer that the retailer wanted to launch for the 2017 U.S. Thanksgiving season. To meet that deadline, COLIN would have one month less than was typically needed to launch a new product. This launch date left COLIN with limited time for research and development, manufacturing, and marketing. Several managers at COLIN met to discuss the project, including how to choose the suppliers, whether to continue with an original equipment manufacturer model or move to an original design manufacturer model, how to ensure the product could be launched on time, and whether to use any of COLIN’S own core technologies. To make their decision, the managers needed to analyze several complicated issues.

In 2010, RBC Financial Group (RBC), a banking and insurance company headquartered in Toronto, Canada, had implemented a new loan program. The program targeted clients who were seeking loans for the installation of electricity-generating solar panels on their property under a new government-sponsored green power program, the Micro Feed-In Tariff Program (microFIT). For RBC, the loan program was an excellent fit with the company’s strategy to support environmentally-focused initiatives. However, by October 2010, microFIT was encountering problems. Once the banking business unit at RBC had sold the loans to a client and the client had installed the solar panels, the insurance business unit at RBC was then cancelling the client’s insurance policies due to the increased risk posed by the installations. Customers were confused and upset. How should RBC handle this difficult situation? How could the company prevent similar problems with future program implementations?

Instructor Spreadsheet to accompany product 8B17D025.

It was September 28, 2015 when Murray Sawchuck, an award-winning magician and headline performer in Las Vegas received an e-mail from Seth Leach, a young, but accomplished creator of viral videos based in Denver, Colorado. Leach felt strongly that Sawchuck’s talent for magic and comedy had great social media potential and that a meaningful collaboration could be developed between them. An initial test video was recorded and was an instant viral success with more than 100 million views across all social media platforms. Sawchuck could not decide if it was just luck or whether there really was a success formula for creating viral videos that was reliable and replicable. He also was unsure just how to leverage his brand as an entertainer through these videos such that there would be tangible value created from them.

In 2012, eHealth Centers (eHCs) digitally delivered affordable medical care and diagnostic support for patients in villages and remote areas of India where it was otherwise unavailable. The solution was initially conceived and developed as a mandate from Hewlett Packard India’s corporate social responsibility team under the leadership of the chief technology officer. The eHCs design incorporated a self-contained diagnostic centre in a container, operated by a staff of paramedics. Doctors located in urban health hubs provided consulting care through video conferencing, and patients could experience the feeling of being in a doctor’s office in real-time. These eHCs slowly turned out to be a business opportunity for Hewlett Packard India. By early 2016, there were 55 centres in operation. The challenge before the company was to scale up exponentially.

In early 2015, the newly appointed country head of PharmaCorp’s operating unit in Ukraine faced internal and external challenges in managing the global pharmaceutical company’s operations in the crisis-ridden country. Since November 2013, Ukraine had undergone massive disruptions, including riots in Kiev, the annexation of Crimea by Russia, and a war in its easternmost region. Amid these economic and political turbulences, PharmaCorp Ukraine experienced plummeting sales, increased workload, amplified human resources issues, and decreased market share. Furthermore, the multinational corporation’s internal routines became less effective in the context of the crisis. Although the regional headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, offered guidance and resources, inefficiencies in responding to local issues emerged during the crisis. Should PharmaCorp exit the market? Or should it stay in Ukraine and revise its local marketing strategy by offering more innovative products? Should it implement cost-saving measures? Should the business model be revised to gain more autonomy for its operations? The country head was scheduled to meet with representatives from the regional headquarters and needed to prepare a comprehensive strategy for improving the local situation.

In 2014, the general manager and a director of an Australian building company were seeking an outside investor to provide the company with the needed resources to recover from a disastrous takeover. The two found such an investor in a Chinese entrepreneur and Sun Tzu master based in Hong Kong. To the shock of those involved with the Australian company, the Chinese investor used Sun Tzu war strategies to take over and destroy the smaller Australian company, while flouting ethical business practices and Australia's standards of corporate governance.<br><br>The Australians' naïveté and their desperate need for capital made the investor's tactics possible. With the benefit of hindsight and omniscient narration revealing the thoughts and actions of both parties, students can evaluate how the events in the case led to the shocking conclusion in 2015, leaving a shell of a company worth penny stock.

In 2014, a Hong Kong-based chartered accountant inadvertently started a social enterprise called Ana by Karma. The initial intent of helping an illiterate Bhutanese woman soon evolved into a journey to empower women in Bhutan to use their creative talents to become financially independent. As a result of her own charming personality and communication skills, the chartered accountant mobilized a team of volunteers to promote scarves that were handwoven by Bhutanese women and thereby bring hope to an increasing number of Bhutanese families who were living in poverty. In early 2016, while relishing her experiences over the previous 18 months, the chartered accountant mulled over the future development of Ana by Karma. How could the venture evolve sustainably? Was it realistic for her to operate Ana by Karma on a full-time basis?

In June 2016, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the United Kingdom-based Time Out Group PLC (Time Out), had just taken the company through an initial public offering, raising much-needed capital for investment and growth. Time Out, which provided consumers with information, tickets, and access to theatre, concerts, and events, as well as food, drink, and cultural experiences in its Time Out Market, had reported significant losses in 2014 and 2015. However, there was momentum in new market areas, and the recently launched Time Out Market in Lisbon, Portugal, had seen revenue growth of 67 per cent between 2014 and 2015. Now, with £59 million to invest, the CEO had to lead the company back to profitability. He needed to balance foreign direct investment in physical Time Out Markets with digital transformation of the company’s offerings. At the same time, he had to find ways to reinforce the new organizational culture he was building at Time Out as a way to help fulfil his corporate vision of Time Out as a disruptive force.

My Kind of Cakes (MKOC), a cake boutique in Ghaziabad, India, had carved a niche for itself with its unique bakery products, quality food, and excellent service, all offered at a reasonable price. Within five years of opening, the business had flourished, growing in worth from ?7.2 million in 2012 to ?19.5 million in 2016. In January 2017, the owner of the cake shop pondered his strategies for achieving his target revenue of ?50 million by 2020. He wondered if he should expand geographically and open franchises in nearby towns or if he should increase his product range. Should he build a digital platform to increase awareness of his brand or launch a loyalty program to strengthen MKOC’s customer relationships? If so, how should he build such a program? Since he had also been asked to photograph special occasions such as baby showers, he wondered whether he should add theme photography to MKOC's offerings.

In February 2013, the vice-president of human resources at PowerTech India Private Limited (PowerTech India), was in his office at the company’s Gurgaon headquarters studying the organizational chart of his firm with interest. In his seven-year tenure with the company, he had watched the organization grow considerably. What he loved most about his job was the company’s commitment to follow best practices in human resources management and the people-oriented approach that made the work a creative, feel-good, and dynamic process. In this highly competitive power sector, expansion had been the catchphrase of the organization as it strove to carve a niche for itself; now retention of talent was more crucial than ever. But after meeting with PowerTech India’s managing director, the vice-president wondered if the expected turbulent times required a reconsideration of the company’s key human resource policies, which had become a hallmark of the organization. Redesigning the workforce at PowerTech India would be a delicate balancing act.